Hundreds of children stuck in hospital because of lack of community services

Hundreds of children are in hospital unnecessarily on any given day because they do not have the right support to go home, according to an analysis of NHS England data.

The discharge delays mean patients affected are missing out on childhood activities and youngsters needing hospital care are waiting for beds, the children’s commissioner’s report found.

More than 260,000 young people spent three or more weeks of their childhood in hospital and 1,300 were there for more than a year.

Medical advancements have meant more patients with complex or life-limiting conditions can live longer but community services such as children’s social care, housing, education and home nursing have not kept pace, it said.

Dame Rachel de Souza, children’s commissioner for England, said in a statement: “For all the debate and attention given to hospitals, waiting times and social care, children are rarely mentioned.

“Childhood is a short and precious time – so when a child spends months or even years confined to a hospital ward, not because they are too unwell to leave but because the right community support cannot be found, the system has failed.”

De Souza said this is partly driven by a “lack of good data”.

The NHS does not consistently record how many youngsters are medically fit to leave hospital but are remaining there as a result of factors external to the health service, the report said.

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Source: The Guardian, 23 March 2026